Suffering
Do you ever ask your self, “Why does this happen? Doesn’t God care about me? If I He loves me so much then why doesn’t He stop what is happening?” Well if you do then this is the spot for you. I want you to know that God really does care for you. The Lord really does love you! I want you to, by reading this, come to an understanding of why God is putting this “suffering” in your life. I want you to realize that God tests us so that we will grow closer to Him. So, reader, God does care for you! He loves you unconditionally!
John 9:1-3 is: 1 As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been blind since birth. 2 Jesus’ disciples asked, “Teacher, why was this man born blind? Was it because he or his parents sinned?” 3 “No, it wasn’t!” Jesus answered…
Matthew 11:28-30 is: 28 If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. 29 Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. 30 This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light. (My Thought: Give your burdens or suffering to the Lord, and He will take them away!)
1 Peter 5:7 is: God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him. (My Thought: God cares! Give Him your worries.)
James 4:8 is: Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners… (My Thought: The first part of ending your suffering is to come near to the Lord, and ask for forgiveness of all of your sins.)
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 is: 8 Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. 9 But he replied, “My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. 10 Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong. (My Thought: All you need is the Lord’s kindness. You see, God knows that you are strong when you are suffering! Christ gives you the power to overcome this suffering.
But what do I get from suffering?
James 1:12 is: God will bless you, if you don’t give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life, just as he rewards everyone who loves him. (My Thought: God will bless you, and reward you… Heaven is a big enough reward for any amount of suffering, huh? I think so.)
James 1:3-4 is: 3 You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4 But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything. (My Thought: You learn endurance. Then you will be mature and won’t lack anything.)
2 Corinthians 1:5 is: We share in the terrible sufferings of Christ, but also in the wonderful comfort he gives. (My Thought: We have wonderful comfort.)
Romans 5:4 is: And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope (My Thought: We have character and hope.)
Lamentations 3:33 is: The Lord doesn’t enjoy sending grief or pain. (My Thought: God doesn’t like to see you be in grief or to have pain… it is just that He knows what is best for you. He knows that when you suffer, it is then that you will build great characteristics!)
Romans 8:18 is: I am sure that what we are suffering now cannot compare with the glory that will be shown to us. (My thought: We will be shown glory.)
1 Peter 5:12-14, 16 "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name."
Matthew 5:11-12 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Hebrews 2:18 is: And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted.
You see, in this last verse it says that Jesus knows how it feels to suffer and to be tempted. He can help you through anything! When you start to ask yourself… “Why don’t I just die? What is the use of living with all of this suffering. I don’t deserve to suffer this much!” Well, let me share something with you. Jesus didn’t deserve to be beaten, ridiculed, cursed at, spit on, laughed at, and beaten. Jesus didn’t deserve to have a crown of thorns to be stuck in his head, and a nail driven into each hand, and one in both legs. He then had a spear stuck in His side. Jesus never sinned, but He did suffer a whole bunch. So if you are suffering then go to Jesus. He knows how you feel. He understands it! Ask Him for you to have the strength to overcome the suffering. And He will, with a loving heart, scoop you up in His mighty arms, and give you the power to overcome any kind of suffering.